Ulemas condemn Jakarta bombing

The Secretary General of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) Anwar Abbas strongly condemned the terror attacks, which killed seven people in MH Thamrin Boulevard, Central Jakarta, on Thursday.

"MUI expresses its deepest condolences for the victims and hopes their families are given strength in the face of their heavy ordeals. MUI condemns any acts of violence committed by whomsoever because they are against religious teachings and hurt people," said Anwar.

The MUI urged the government to investigate and arrest soon those, who are responsible for the attacks. They should be punished, based on the existing law in Indonesia.

"MUI has also called on the people to remain calm and leave the incident to the police," Anwar said.

The MUI urged all sides to not link the bombing with Islam or other religions because religions never condone terrorism.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has earlier condemned the series of bomb blasts and shootouts, which left at least seven people dead in Jakarta on Thursday.

The President has ordered the security apparatus to immediately track down the perpetrators and their networks responsible for the six bomb explosions that took place near the Sarinah shopping center and one in the Starbucks cafe within the shopping center.

"I have ordered the National Police Chief and the Security Minister to hunt down and arrest the perpetrators," President Jokowi remarked during his working visit to Cirebon, West Java.

The head of state said the government and Indonesian citizens will not be defeated by terror.

"The state, the nation, and the people should not be defeated by terror. I hope the people would stay calm," the President emphasized, adding that he will cut short his visit to Cirebon.

In recent weeks, Indonesia has been on edge over the threat posed by militants, and the counter-terrorism police have launched a crackdown on people with suspected links to ISIS.

"We had previously received a threat from ISIS that Indonesia will be the spotlight," police Spokesman Anton Charliyan informed reporters, but he said the police were still unaware as to who is responsible for the attack. 

Source: ANTARA